Common Ground

There is a line in the Quran that Muslims have been instructed to share with you. It is simple and clears up so much confusion, misunderstanding and provides common ground. I think it can help us be better neighbors:

“We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. Our God and your God is one (the same); and it is to Him we submit.” (29:46)

All of us: Jews, Christians and Muslims, can agree we believe in The Creator.

Similarly, we can agree that we believe in and revere the prophet Abraham (Among many others in fact).

“Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to God]. And he was not of the polytheists.”(3:67)

He worshipped only the Creator, ascribing no partners to Him. The example of Abraham is mentioned often throughout the Quran. His way of life was submission to the Most Merciful. That’s Islam.

This is food for thought.

Muslims believe in all the prophets including Moses and Jesus. Where do our differences lie? Has God not provided a consistent message from the beginning of humankind’s sojourn on Earth? Shouldn’t all of us be striving to emulate Abraham?

The Quran says:

“The Messenger (Referring to Muhammad) has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in God and His angels and His books (including the original Torah and Gospel) and His messengers, [saying], ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.'”(2:286)

The way I see it, there is no reason to fight or to hate.

So when you see a Muslim, remember, they worship the same God as you. The one who created all of us. They believe in your prophet, be he Moses or Jesus. They Believe in Abraham, Noah and Adam.

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11 thoughts on “Common Ground”

Thank you for this. I have often told people, especially over the past 13 years, that “most Muslims aren’t like that” and that they believe in the “People of the Book”. Yes, I read the Quaran years ago in an effort to understand differences and similarities between the Semetic faiths of the Middle East. I know what you say is true and that Islam is, in reality, a peaceful faith. Or as much as any conversion faith can be. This is not a slam, it’s just that I’ve found that any faith that tries to be “the one true faith” or “the only way” tends to lead to violence, though I think that is a human failing. I love your blog!

Surely human failing is at the root of our problems. I don’t think believing there is a true way or an only way is the problem.
The prophet Muhammad was extremely kind and compassionate towards everyone and he was concerned for their soul’s well being. Yet he believed he had been given the truth. It grieved him when people didn’t recognize it because he cared for them and wanted good for them.
But now there are people that take verses out of context to justify their hatred or nationalistic causes. They don’t see the big picture or they choose to ignore it.
I’m determined to show how that approach is invalid and not representative of Islam.
That being said, there are definitely all kinds of messed up people, Muslim and otherwise, out there.
I hope people like us who desire understanding can help minimize the forces for hate and conflict!

I appreciate the time you take to put this blog together. As a Christian, I must inform you that we don’t share the same God. Here’s why. The God of the Bible says Jesus is God, not a prophet. The Christian faith believes that we are all sinners fallen short of the glory of God; therefore, we need a savior who will take the penalty for our sins so that we may have a relationship with God. Only Jesus, someone who lived perfectly without sin, can pay the price. In Islam, Jesus is only a prophet, unable to save anyone. By then how are you saved if you have no one to save you? If you do not believe that Jesus came to save us from our sins, then we do not share the same God because Jesus IS God. You may have descended from the line of Abraham, but neither Muslims nor Jews believe in Jesus; therefore it is not the same as Christianity.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and for your comment! It is really my pleasure to discuss these topics.

If you are intending the word god to mean “one that is worshipped” then you are right, we don’t worship the same god if you worship Jesus. Me, I worship the creator of all that exists.

We may not have the same god in the sense of who we worship, but nevertheless we do still have the same Creator, nothing can change that and that is who I worship. Do you believe it was Jesus who created the heavens and the earth? The angels? Galaxies? Heaven and Hell and everything else?

Muslim means “one who submits to God” God has described Himself for us in the Quran and via the prophets throughout the history of mankind on earth. One of His attributes is that He has created everything and He himself is not Created, but eternal.

Do you believe Jesus is eternal?

Did Jesus, while he was on earth, did he teach and preach that he is God and that people should worship him? I would like to see the clear and unambiguous textual proof of this.

I am very curious because you seem very sure he said this, yet as I recall from the bible he disliked when anyone praised him excessively and directed them to the worship of the One and Only God.

by the way, I am of Italian descent, so Roman descent. The Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, therefore Abraham. Being Muslim does not entail being Arab. Less than 20% of the Muslims in the world are Arab.
But I wasn’t referring in by post to lineage, but rather following Abraham as an example. He never set up partners to God. He worshipped the One and only creator of everything and that is why we have been told to follow him.

First, I’d like to point out that you never answered my question. If you have no savior, then who will save you?

To get to all your points:

Fact: “We may not have the same god in the sense of who we worship, but nevertheless we do still have the same Creator.”

Yes, I do worship Jesus because He is God and deserving of praise and worship.

Verses that declare the deity of Jesus:

John 10:30-33–“I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

John 5:18–“For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”

Col. 2:9–“For in Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

Your question: “Do you believe it was Jesus who created the heavens and the earth?”

Yes, Jesus *being God* created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1–“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:14–“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Gen 1:1—“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Your question: “Do you believe Jesus is eternal?”

Isaiah 44:6–“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.”

Rev. 1:17-18–“Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

John 8:58–“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.'”

Yes, I believe Jesus is eternal. You can’t get much more eternal than being God, in the beginning and the end, the first and the last, before and after Abraham.

Your question: “Did Jesus, while he was on earth, did he teach and preach that he is God and that people should worship him?”

John 20:28-29–“Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

He never sought to correct His followers and redirect the worship away from Himself as did the angel in Revelation or the apostle Paul in Acts 14. I’m sure if He had refused worship (which would imply He is not God), then the Pharisee’s wouldn’t have a problem with Jesus because He wouldn’t be calling Himself God — see John 10:33 above. You’ll have to post the reference to the verse you’re referring to where “he disliked when anyone praised him excessively and directed them to the worship of the One and Only God.”

Lastly, being of Italian descent doesn’t make you inherently Roman decent. Your heritage could have been from a slave, just saying. I do understand that being Muslim does not entail someone as being Arab. However, it does not change what I said that neither Muslim nor Jews believe in Jesus; therefore it is not the same as Christianity.

Sure. I’ll pull all the references I can for you but right now i am out of town and a bit busy. Meanwhile I’ll post some videos. I’d be curious as to your thoughts about them. They are former Christians and hold doctorates in divinity who have the Christian credentials I certainly don’t have. 🙂

My answer to your question about a savior is that we are saved from God’s wrath and the punishment of the next life by our own works and the supreme Mercy and Forgiveness of our Lord, God, Creator.
He is the Most Merciful and the Oft Forgiving. He has provided us with guidance to help us get through the test of life on Earth. Those who believe in and Remember Him, directing their worship for Him alone, not ascribing partners with Him and seeking His Mercy and Forgiveness, they are saved. People don’t need an external person to save them. We are each responsible for our own souls and our own actions. That’s the whole point of life on earth.

I’m curious about your thoughts on this (and by the way I am seeking to understand your viewpoint and share mine, not debate for its own sake):

If Jesus and God are one and the same, where was god when Jesus was on earth. Was god really an imperceivable speck on the face of the earth, a minuscule rock you can’t even see from beyond our galaxy? Why would almighty God, lower himself to such a lowly form of flesh and blood when He is so much Greater?

If God is eternal, and Jesus is God, what was sacrificed and why do Christians say Jesus died when we know God never dies?

Why would resurrection be amazing when God never dies in the first place?

If Jesus is our savior, why are there numerous generations struggling through life on earth after he has departed?? Why don’t you just go to paradise now that he, god, has saved you from his own design?? Why suffering? Why calamities?

None of this makes sense to me from your perspective, yet Islam answers every question in an easy way, satisfying to the intellect and consistent with reason.

Also, it all conflicts with the consistent messages of all the previous prophets. And the Way of God demonstrated over the ages.

I do not believe there is anything unambiguous in the bible where Jesus claims to be God. The problem with the bible though, is that it hasn’t been preserved in tact so it is not a proof in and of itself. Ask any bible scholar if the bible today is authentic and original. You would need to have a single complete version of it in it’s original language to even be sure the translations you read today are accurate translations. No one even knows who actually wrote down the gospels. If you have knowledge contrary to this, do let me know. 🙂

Please take some time to listen to the links below.

I wish you all the best of this life and the next. 🙂 thank you for conversing with me!

Interesting debate about books and interpretations going on here YMN. Becky, you may want to check into the debates within the early Christian churches (pre-council of Nicea) which not only tried to deal with the single versus tri-une godhead as well as whether you had to be a “good” Jew in order to be a “good” Christian. These created the division between the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Catholic faiths. These debates are actually something the Pope is trying address in his current trip to the Middle East.

We don’t have the same God because your Mohammed doesn’t obey what Jesus said to do. In John 14:23-24, Jesus says, anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the father who sent me. Your God is therefore, different than the one that Jesus represents because he teaches different things.

In fact, it doesn’t matter even if you claim the God of Abraham. You can claim whatever you want. It doesn’t even matter if you call yourself Christian. The qualifying factor is whether or not you obey the words of Jesus. In fact, In Luke 6:49, Jesus says, But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great!

So what does Jesus, who you believe is from God, tell us to do (since you Muslims like to claim him, but you don’t seem to have any idea of what he stood for)? A) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength B) Love your neighbour as yourself C) Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you D) Turn the other cheek.

You can tell that this teaching is from God, because even if you take the most wretched criminal, if he will obey what Jesus said to do to the extreme limits, he will become perfect and holy. He does no harm to anybody, gives everything he has to those in need and does not sin but is perfect just like God is perfect. If everybody obeyed, earth would be a mirror image of heaven. That is the power of the Christian gospel. It’s not about religion at all, but rather about following in the footsteps of Christ to become more like our creator, and less like a horde of vile animals.

Hello K8! Thank for visiting my site and for taking the time to share your thoughts. 🙂

You packed a lot of concepts into your short comment. Would you mind if I use this question as a basis for a post in which I will answer your questions?

To begin touching on what you said, before I get a response from you about that, I’d like to just respond to what you said about not worshipping the same God. Who exactly do you worship? As Muslims, we worship and submit our wills to the Will of the Almighty Creator of everything. Our God, is our Creator. Who is your God then, if not the same?